The Los Angeles Clippers look to strengthen their postseason position when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
The Clippers, who lost six of their first seven games after the All-Star break, completed a sweep of a three-game homestand when they beat Sacramento 111-110 in overtime Sunday. As the current No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and several games ahead of No. 11 Phoenix, the Clippers are in good shape to make the play-in tournament and within striking distance of the top six spots.
“We needed this win,” center Ivica Zubac said. “We were down seven with two minutes to go and came back, go to overtime, burning out, and finish like that, win like that — we needed it. We needed some positivity.”
Los Angeles used a 7-0 run in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter to force the extra period. James Harden tied the game on a floater with 11.9 seconds left.
The Clippers trailed by one point in overtime when Kawhi Leonard drove into the lane and tossed up a left-handed shot that bounced around the rim before trickling through the net to produce the game’s 23rd lead change as time expired.
“We need these wins down the stretch,” Leonard said. “I think this will help us be a better team moving forward.”
During the win streak, Harden and Leonard have played to their level as perennial All-Stars. Harden had 50 points in a 123-115 victory over the Detroit Pistons to start the homestand and he narrowly missed a triple-double against the Kings, finishing with 29 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue was a last-minute scratch Sunday because of back pain and was replaced by assistant coach Brian Shaw. As Los Angeles begins a three-game road trip, the team has yet to announce when Lue is expected to return to the bench.
New Orleans’ latest game also was decided at the final buzzer. The Pelicans put up two potential game-tying 3-pointers during the final possession, but Jose Alvarado and Kelly Olynyk both missed as the visiting Memphis Grizzlies escaped with a 107-104 victory Sunday night.
The Pelicans’ leading scorer Zion Williamson (24.5 points per game) and CJ McCollum (21.4 ppg) sat out to rest during the second game of a back-to-back. Even in their absence, the team was much more competitive than it was during a 146-117 loss at Houston the previous night.
“I loved our resiliency and our ability to stick together,” guard Javonte Green said after the Pelicans fought back and took the Grizzlies to the wire. “That’s what I said to the guys, after coming off a tough loss I loved our approach to this game.”
The absence of Williamson and McCollum offered expanded opportunities for younger players, and seven Pelicans scored in double figures as New Orleans’ bench outscored the Grizzlies’ bench 32-23.
Rookies Karlo Matkovic (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Antonio Reeves (11 points) and second-year guard Jordan Hawkins (12) were among the key contributors in support of Trey Murphy III’s 27 points.
“All of those young guys are getting better,” Green said. “Those are the steps that we want to take with this young group.”
–Field Level Media
